However often the restless mind may break loose and wander, he should rein it in and constantly bring it back to the self. Bhagavad Gita

My daughter has been practising yoga on and off for a number of years. She and my son grew up in a household where yoga is a way of life for me. I have never imposed yoga on my family, but I have to say I love having my daughter in my classes. She has started to have a much deeper understanding of yoga and this understanding is helping her through a very difficult and stressful period of time as she prepares for her degree show at Central Saint Martins in London. I am currently her only yoga teacher but I am hoping she will be able to practice with my own teachers, Nancy Gilgoff and with Sharath Jois when they are in London over the summer. I remember discussing with Nancy many years ago how it felt to see her daughter practising with her. She had said she always loved looking through her legs and seeing Vanessa on a mat beside her. Vanessa now assists her quite often when she is teaching around the world. My daughter and I discuss yoga. All limbs. Not too much because, in a way

Okay not a long item on the pros and cons of a home ashtanga yoga practice (or any yoga for that matter). That I feel is for another day. The pros, as shown in this photograph, are that I get to practice with unbrushed hair in my pyjamas at home. The cons are fairly obvious here. My beautiful old Labrador likes to come and practice his down dogs on my mat and occasionally licks my face when I fully absorbed in my drishti. I wouldn't have it any other way :-)

Lovely video clip by these yogis in production. Saw a number of familiar faces from this years trip to Mysore in here :-)

A burning desire must fuel your discipline. You must make the effort to continuously study the subject. You must devote all your efforts to the supreme self. These are the actions to be taken to realise yoga. Tapah: Yoga Sutra 11.1 by Patanjali

Thinking we can find some lasting pleasure and avoid pain is what in Buddhism is called Samsara. A hopeless cycle that goes round and round endlessly and causes us to suffer greatly when things fall apart. Pema Chodron

So this is the one thing in Sharath's new book ASTANGA YOGA ANUSTHANA that took me slightly by surprise. At the end of the yoga practice Sharath says "take rest". In Mysore he says "go home and take rest". Many, many books and teachers (including myself) refer to the pose below as savasana. Sharath says in his book this is NOT  savasana as no asana (pose) is being done. Thoughts anyone?

Some great old footage. Not sure when this was taken, but Sharath looks quite young. Thank you to  Dmitry Baryshnikov  for sharing.

To know oneself is to know one's body, mind and soul. The inward journey will allow you to explore and integrate each of these aspects of your being. from your physical body, you will journey inward to discover your "subtle bodies"-your energy body, where breath and emotions reside; your mental body, where thoughts and obsessions can be mastered: your intellectual body, where intelligence and wisdom can can be found; and your divine body, where the universal soul can be glimpsed. B.K.S Iyengar (Light on Life)

Here is Asteya one of the Yamas from the ashtanga yoga eight limbs. This is from Sharath's book Astanga yoga Anusthana .   I have heard him discuss some of the things mentioned here, including the stealing of poses. I think if we could all practice this to the best of our ability (both in and out of the yoga community), life would indeed be a better place. I think quite often non-stealing is associated with material theft. This item clearly defines a number of areas to be considered. " Asteya means non stealing property or wealth that belongs to others. This includes not stealing work, ideas or even attempting to perform Asana that are not taught to you. If you practice non-stealing, you will reap all the gems of life, which are not necessary monetary. Real gems are peace of mind, joy and ultimate happiness. According to the yogis, there is no gem like the peace of mind and ultimate joy that we can attain through spiritual practice, and non-attachment,  Indeed, non-atta